Nursing home resident arrested for theft from employee

Greenwich Police have arrested a Greenwich nursing home resident after he was caught using a debit card stolen from an employee. Alan Van Valkenberg, 56, originally of Danbury, is facing a number of larceny charges for swiping cards and car keys from an unattended purse at the Fairveiw Healthcare Center.

On July 4, shortly before 8:30 p.m., police were dispatched to 1188 King St. on reports of several stolen items. Investigators were eventually able to pinpoint Van Valkenberg after he used a missing debit card to withdraw cash from an ATM and make a purchase.

When officers confronted Van Valkenberg, he provided a false name and birth date, though police quickly determined his real identity.

Van Valkenberg was arrested on larceny, credit card theft and interference with an officer charges and was held on $500 bond, which he could not post.The suspect was issued a court date for July 11 at state Superior Court in Stamford.

The arrest marks the second holiday in a row that Fairview has been the scene of a criminal investigation. On Memorial Day, a Stamford took advantage of shoestring holiday staffing to illegally seize his ill mother from the nursing home and sequester her in a motel room.